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Colts' momentum is short-lived, as the Chargers beat them soundly

Remember when everyone was touting the Indianapolis Colts as the clear No. 2 team in the AFC?

That was a fun eight days.

The Colts aren't as bad as they looked in a sleepy 19-9 loss to the Chargers, but they're probably not as good as everyone figured after they squeezed out a home win against Seattle in Week 5.

This was a bad spot for the Colts. They were coming off a huge win, heard all week how great they are, but had to have an eye on next week's "Sunday Night Football" showdown against Denver and Peyton Manning. A lackluster performance at San Diego wasn't that surprising. and the Chargers did play well.

Still, this was a pretty poor performance by the Colts, who are now 4-2. The Chargers' defense was perhaps the worst in the NFL through five weeks, giving up a NFL high 6.5 yards per play. And the Colts got nothing going against it. Trent Richardson continued to be uninspiring, and Indianapolis' trade for him keeps looking worse every week. Even quarterback Andrew Luck was average. He was 18-of-30 for 202 yards and an interception. The Colts never got into the end zone.

San Diego deserves credit. The Chargers bounced back from a tough loss at Oakland to play by far their best defensive game of the season. Rookie receiver Keenan Allen, a second-round pick, continues to look like a steal. He had nine catches for 107 yards and a touchdown, and is clearly Philip Rivers' favorite target already. Coach Mike McCoy made a weird decision to try a 50-yard field goal with two minutes left instead of going for it on fourth and inches, but even that worked out when Nick Novak drilled the field goal. It was a good win for the Chargers, who as a whole have played better than their 3-3 record.

And just because the Colts lost doesn't mean they're not one of the better teams in the AFC. It was a bad night in a tough spot. It's best to not overreact at this point of the season.